Long Daylight Pavilion
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Long Daylight Pavilion
Long Daylight Pavilion
Transforming Vision into Custom-Engineered Structures
Transforming Vision into Custom-Engineered Structures
Location
Kruunuvuorenranta, Helsinki, FinlandDelivery
2025Scope
24 individually configured illuminated polesMaterials
Stainless steel, glass, acrylic glass and LED lightingDesigner
Studio Olafur EliassonPublic Art Collection
HAM Helsinki Art MuseumValmont's Contribution
Specialist structural engineering and manufacturing expertise delivered through Tehomet, Oy - A Valmont company
Long Daylight Pavilion
Long Daylight Pavilion
About this project
About this project
- On Helsinki’s waterfront, light does more than illuminate a place. It traces the movement of the sun, connects the city to its natural surroundings and transforms engineered structures into a permanent work of public art. Designed by Studio Olafur Eliasson, Long Daylight Pavilion is a site-specific light installation located in Kruunuvuorenranta, Helsinki’s emerging district of light art. Its 24 poles form an open ring that extends from the rocky shoreline towards the water, translating the solar path of the year’s longest day into a physical and luminous landmark. Tehomet Oy - a Valmont company provided the engineering expertise, advanced manufacturing capabilities and precision craftsmanship required to bring this ambitious artistic vision to life, creating a landmark that combines artistic expression with long-term structural performance.
Making the movement of the sun visible
Long Daylight Pavilion originates from an extraordinary idea: to make the sun’s passage through the Helsinki sky visible at ground level. Each of the 24 poles corresponds to a position of the sun on 21 June, the summer solstice. Their varying heights recreate the solar arc above the site. The shortest pole, positioned on the northern side of the circle, represents the sun at its lowest point; the tallest, to the south, marks its highest point in the sky. Together, the structures form a three-dimensional expression of time, light and the Earth’s rotation. Visitors can enter and move through the installation, using it almost as a compass to understand their position within the landscape and their relationship with the planet. After dark, the work changes character. Light emerges through diamond-shaped openings that gradually widen towards the top of the poles. The illuminated points combine to create an angled ring that follows the same solar path, appearing from certain viewpoints as a continuous circle of light suspended across the waterfront.One artistic vision. Twenty-four unique structures.
This was not a project for conventional, repeatable lighting poles. Every structure had to occupy a specific position within the composition and contribute to the geometry of the completed artwork. Height, alignment, form, material, finish and lighting integration all influenced how the pavilion would be experienced—both at close range and from across the water. The challenge was therefore not simply to manufacture a series of structural elements. It was to interpret an artistic concept with the precision needed to preserve its meaning. Tehomet Oy - a Valmont company brought together the capabilities required to bridge that gap: specialist engineering knowledge, experience in customised pole solutions and the manufacturing expertise needed to deliver structures in which technical performance and visual intent are inseparable.The Valmont Structures difference
Engineering without compromising the idea
In a work of public art, technical decisions cannot be separated from creative ones. Every structural detail has the potential to affect the visual language of the installation. Tehomet Oy - a Valmont company’s role was to help translate an original artistic vision into structures that could be manufactured, installed and experienced in the intended way, without reducing the strength or clarity of the concept.Customisation as a core capability
The pavilion called for a solution shaped around one particular place, one solar path and one artistic composition. Tehomet Oy - a Valmont company’s track record in engineering and manufacturing customised structures made it possible to approach the project not as a standard product application, but as a unique engineering assignment in which every component contributes to a unified whole.Performance within a demanding landscape
Positioned directly on the exposed bedrock and extending towards the sea, the installation becomes part of Helsinki’s waterfront environment. Its structures must retain their quality and character while remaining permanently exposed to the conditions of a Nordic coastal setting. Manufactured from stainless steel with a brushed surface finish, the poles are designed to withstand the demanding conditions of Helsinki's waterfront environment while maintaining their distinctive appearance over time. This combination of materials expertise and surface protection helps preserve both the artwork's visual impact and its structural performance throughout its service life.When infrastructure becomes part of the experience.
Long Daylight Pavilion challenges the traditional distinction between infrastructure and art. The poles provide structure and carry light, but their purpose extends far beyond function. Collectively, the structures create orientation, movement and identity. Engineering does not sit behind the artwork: the engineering helps form the artwork itself. By day, the pavilion frames the sky and reveals the geometry of the summer sun. By night, it becomes a softly illuminated beacon facing central Helsinki, a new point of reference within a waterfront district being transformed through architecture, landscape and public art.Built with precision. Experienced through light.
Valmont Structures helps architects, designers, artists, and cities realize ideas that demand more than an off-the-shelf solution. From structural engineering and customisation to manufacturing quality and long-term performance, Valmont brings together the expertise required to transform ambitious concepts into enduring landmarks. In Helsinki, expertise helped give physical form to the path of the sun—and create a new connection between people, place and light. “The engineering does not sit behind the artwork. It helps form the artwork itself.”
FAQs
Project FAQs
- What is the Long Daylight Pavilion in Helsinki?View
The Long Daylight Pavilion is a permanent, site-specific light installation in the Kruunuvuorenranta district of Helsinki, designed by Studio Olafur Eliasson. It consists of 24 steel poles arranged in an open ring that traces the path of the sun on the summer solstice (21 June), the longest day of the year.
- Who designed the Long Daylight Pavilion?View
It was created by the Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson (Studio Olafur Eliasson). It was commissioned by the City of Helsinki and curated by HAM Helsinki Art Museum.
- How many poles does the Long Daylight Pavilion have and why?View
It is made up of 24 individually configured poles of varying heights. Each pole corresponds to a position of the sun on the summer solstice: the shortest (north) marks the sun at its lowest point, the tallest (south) its highest point in the sky.
- What are the poles made of?View
The poles are manufactured from stainless steel with a brushed surface finish, chosen to withstand the demanding conditions of a Nordic coastal setting while preserving their distinctive appearance over time.
- Who engineered and manufactured the poles?View
The engineering, advanced manufacturing and precision craftsmanship were delivered by Tehomet Oy – a Valmont company, translating the artistic vision into custom-engineered structures built for long-term performance.
- Can visitors walk through the Long Daylight Pavilion?View
Yes. Visitors can enter and move through the ring of poles.
- What makes these poles different from standard lighting poles?View
This was not a repeatable, off-the-shelf product. Every pole had to occupy a precise position, height and alignment within the composition, making it a bespoke engineering assignment where technical performance and visual intent are inseparable.
